Publisher's Synopsis
In Song After a Long Campaign John W. L. Toivonen uses poetry to explore subjects ranging from the internal world of the imagination to the pivotal moments in western history. At times his poetry celebrates the generative power of the human imagination as the lens through which the poet sees the world. In other poems he shifts to the imprint of historical figures. Attila the Hun, Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, Hernando Cortez, Pontius Pilate, and Jesus of Nazareth are some of the men whose stake in historical deeds are recorded in these complex and subjective poems. The title of the book is taken from the first poem in the collection, but also from the meditation that comes after human travail. The poems in this collection shift from the rational to the subjective and associative. Readers who appreciate precisely crafted poetry that is steeped in reflection upon western culture will find this first collection to be engaging and rewarding.
